http://www.pfaw.org/topic-4
enCWA Spox: SCOTUS Marriage Ruling Could Lead To ‘Criminalization Of Religious Beliefs’http://www.pfaw.org/content/cwa-spox-scotus-marriage-ruling-could-lead-criminalization-religious-beliefs
<p>Concerned Women for America&rsquo;s legal counsel, Mario Diaz, stopped by Iowa CWA director Tamara Scott&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAVs-xlvq9g">radio program</a> last week to discuss the Supreme Court&rsquo;s upcoming consideration of a number of marriage equality cases.</p>
<p>Scott, who is also a Republican National Committee member, told Diaz that LGBT rights advocates, &ldquo;the group that exploits the term &lsquo;tolerant&rsquo; as their poster,&rdquo; are actually &ldquo;so incredibly intolerant to anyone with an opposing view.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Diaz agreed that a collision between LGBT rights and religious liberty is &ldquo;inevitable,&rdquo; and that a Supreme Court marriage equality victory would lead to the &ldquo;criminalization of religious beliefs.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;And it is one of the great tragedies that I think I put now at the feet of the Supreme Court, if they are considering finding a constitutional right to same-sex marriage in the Constitution, they must consider, and I hope they are, that they will be effectively opening the door for the criminalization of religious beliefs, especially Christian beliefs.&rdquo;</p>
<p align="center"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/192790433&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe></p>
<p>Later in the interview, Scott and Diaz agreed that LGBT rights victories in the courts amount to, in Diaz&rsquo;s words, a &ldquo;transformation of the form of government we have.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Pointing to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg&rsquo;s <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/12/ruth-bader-ginsburg-gay-marriage_n_6669000.html">comment</a> that it wouldn&rsquo;t take &ldquo;a large adjustment&rdquo; for Americans to adapt to same-sex marriage, Diaz said she is planning to wave a &ldquo;magic wand and declare that the country&rsquo;s ready now to move to same-sex marriage.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;And in a few years, when the country&rsquo;s ready for polygamy, then the country&rsquo;s ready for that also, and we continue down that track to anything that the majority of us agree about. It&rsquo;s just preposterous,&rdquo; he added.</p>
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Equality For AllMarriage EqualityFair and Just CourtsFighting the RightC4Concerned Women for Americamario diazTamara ScottAnti-GayMarriage Equalityreligious persecution rhetoricTue, 24 Feb 2015 15:32:56 +0000Miranda Blue50911 at http://www.pfaw.orgBrian Brown: Marriage Equality, Like Slavery And Segregation, 'Cannot Stand'http://www.pfaw.org/content/brian-brown-marriage-equality-slavery-and-segregation-cannot-stand
<p>National Organization for Marriage President Brian Brown joined Iowa Republican National Committee member Tamara Scott on her radio program last week, where the two <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ks2KjlL3mY">discussed</a> the upcoming Supreme Court decision on marriage equality.</p>
<p>Brown told Scott that a pro-equality decision would be &ldquo;illegitimate&rdquo; and anti-LGBT groups would have to emulate the anti-choice movement after Roe and &ldquo;build a movement that continues to stand and proclaim the truth.&rdquo;</p>
<p>He compared a potential marriage equality decision to infamous Supreme Court rulings upholding the Fugitive Slave Act, the prohibition on citizenship for African Americans, and school desegregation.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It may be a generation or two down the line, but this lie about what it means to be a human being cannot stand. It cannot stand,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;And just because the Supreme Court says it&rsquo;s so, it doesn&rsquo;t make it so. The Supreme Court has had horrible decisions in the past, horrible decisions like the Dred Scott decision, Plessy v. Ferguson, the Fugitive Slave Act, Roe v. Wade. Just because the Supreme Court said it was so didn&rsquo;t make it so, and there was an obligation for people living in those times to stand up and say &lsquo;no this is wrong&rsquo; and to fight with every ounce of their being for the truth.&rdquo;</p>
<p>He added that the movement would have to contend with &ldquo;some weakness from Republican leaders on the marriage issue.&rdquo;</p>
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<p>Earlier in the interview, Scott asked Brown about the decision to approve hormone therapy for Chelsea Manning, which Scott joked was part of a &ldquo;witness protection program.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Well, I don&rsquo;t know about that, but I do know that once you redefine what it means, or attempt to redefine what it means to be a man and a woman, then this clearly is the next step,&rdquo; Brown responded. &ldquo;And I don&rsquo;t think people, at times we may not think deeply about what we&rsquo;re being asked to accept, especially on the issue of same-sex marriage, but what we&rsquo;re essentially being asked to accept is the very deconstruction of what it means to be a mother and father, husband and wife, and what it means to be a human being.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;And once you go down this road of acting as if the biological reality of mothers and fathers, husbands and wives doesn&rsquo;t matter, it doesn&rsquo;t exist, then the next step is to say that gender itself is a construct. And we&rsquo;re seeing that across the country, the next step on quote-unquote &lsquo;transgender rights,&rsquo;&rdquo; he said.</p>
<p>He added that transgender rights measures would have &quot;profound consequences&quot; that are being seen &quot;across the country.&quot;</p>
<p align="center"><iframe width="100%" height="166" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/192672742&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false"></iframe>Equality For AllMarriage EqualityFair and Just CourtsFighting the RightC4National Organization for MarriageBrian BrownTamara ScottIowaAnti-GayMarriage EqualityMon, 23 Feb 2015 22:11:49 +0000Miranda Blue50891 at http://www.pfaw.org Roy Moore: Ban Gay Marriage To Keep Bisexuals And 'Transgendered' From Marrying Multiple Peoplehttp://www.pfaw.org/content/roy-moore-ban-gay-marriage-keep-bisexuals-and-transgendered-marrying-multiple-people
<p>Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore doesn&rsquo;t seem to quite understand the LGBT community that he is so set against, <a href="http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/02/roy_moore_legalizing_gay_marri.html">telling the Associated Press</a> this weekend that if the Supreme Court rules in favor of marriage equality, bisexual and &ldquo;transgendered&rdquo; people will then demand to marry two people each. &ldquo;Can they marry two persons, one of the same sex and one of the opposite sex? Then, you&#39;ve got a family of four or how many?&quot; he asked:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Moore argues that no federal court, even the U.S. Supreme Court, has the right to define marriage.</p>
<p>&quot;You&#39;re taking any definition of a family away. When two bisexuals or two transgendered marry, how large is that family? Can they marry two persons, one of the same sex and one of the opposite sex? Then, you&#39;ve got a family of four or how many?&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Moore also resisted comparisons of his standoff with the federal courts over marriage equality to former Gov. George Wallace&rsquo;s stand against desegregation, saying that one major difference is that Wallace eventually backed down, and he won&rsquo;t:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Moore&#39;s actions have drawn inevitable comparisons to former Gov. George Wallace&#39;s 1963 largely symbolic &quot;stand in the schoolhouse door&quot; aimed at preventing desegregation at the University of Alabama, nine years after education segregation was ruled illegal.</p>
<p>Moore said there is another difference.</p>
<p>&quot;George Wallace moved,&quot; he said, noting how the former governor eventually stepped aside.</p>
<p>&quot;I can&#39;t move from my position because I&#39;m bound to uphold the Constitution,&quot; Moore said.</p>
</blockquote>
Equality For AllMarriage EqualityFair and Just CourtsFighting the RightC4Roy Moore AlabamaMon, 23 Feb 2015 19:44:51 +0000Miranda Blue50846 at http://www.pfaw.orgMatt Barber: States Should Defy Roe And Jail Abortion Providershttp://www.pfaw.org/content/matt-barber-states-should-defy-roe-and-jail-abortion-providers
<p>Matt Barber <a href="http://stevedeace.com/podcast/deace-show-podcast-02-19-15/">joined Steve Deace</a> on his radio program yesterday to discuss the actions of Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore, who&rsquo;s urging judges in his state to defy a federal judge and refuse to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.</p>
<p>Barber told Deace that whether or not the United States Supreme Court has &ldquo;the authority to redefine the institution of marriage, which cannot be done, it&rsquo;s contrary to reality to say that it&rsquo;s anything other than the male and female,&rdquo; Moore is on &ldquo;solid legal ground&rdquo; in claiming that the Alabama Supreme Court takes precedence over the federal district court that issued the marriage ruling.</p>
<p>Deace asked Barber why the conservative movement was less willing to defy the federal courts during Judge Moore&rsquo;s 2003 standoff over placing a Ten Commandments monument in his courthouse or after Roe v. Wade, &ldquo;when the court said, &lsquo;We&rsquo;re going to start just massacring, dismembering little innocent babies.&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
<p>Barber agreed that states should have simply ignored the court&rsquo;s ruling in Roe: &ldquo;Why, back when the courts issued their ridiculous, non-scientific ruling in Roe v. Wade, why didn&rsquo;t states like Texas and other states say, &lsquo;Okay, well thank you for your opinion, but nope, here in the state of Texas, you kill an unborn child, you&rsquo;ve committed murder, we&rsquo;re going to throw you in jail for it&rsquo;?&rdquo;</p>
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<p>Later in the interview, Deace repeated <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/robert-knight-stop-gay-marriage-impeaching-judges-who-rule-equality"> his prediction</a> that a sweeping marriage ruling would ignite an even greater culture war battle than Roe did.</p>
<p>Barber agreed, saying the &ldquo;goal all along&rdquo; of the &ldquo;sin-based, sodomy-based marriage&rdquo; movement has been to persecute Christians.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Religious liberty and so-called gay marriage cannot coexist in harmony,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;If the Supreme Court goes Roe v. Wade on this decision and divines a new-fangled right to sin-based, sodomy-based marriage, Christians will be being persecuted across the country. They will be told, &lsquo;You either put your stamp of approval on sin or you will be pushed to the fringes and marginalized and you will not be able to carry a job or function in society.&rsquo; That&rsquo;s been their goal all along anyway.&rdquo;</p>
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Equality For AllMarriage EqualityFair and Just CourtsFighting the RightC4Liberty Counsel Liberty University Matt Barber Roy Moore Steve DeaceAlabamaAnti-ChoiceAnti-GayMarriage EqualityReproductive HealthFri, 20 Feb 2015 18:49:45 +0000Miranda Blue50766 at http://www.pfaw.orgRepublican Inaction as Judicial Emergencies Jumphttp://www.pfaw.org/content/republican-inaction-judicial-emergencies-jump
With five new judicial emergencies announced this morning, Senate Republicans should do more to move judicial nominations.<div class="service-links"><a href="http://del.icio.us/post?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Frepublican-inaction-judicial-emergencies-jump&amp;title=Republican+Inaction+as+Judicial+Emergencies+Jump" title="Bookmark this post on del.icio.us." class="service-links-delicious" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/delicious.png" alt="del.icio.us" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Frepublican-inaction-judicial-emergencies-jump&amp;title=Republican+Inaction+as+Judicial+Emergencies+Jump" title="Submit this post on reddit.com." class="service-links-reddit" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/reddit.png" alt="Reddit" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://technorati.com/search/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Frepublican-inaction-judicial-emergencies-jump" title="Search Technorati for links to this post." class="service-links-technorati" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/technorati.png" alt="Technorati" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://twitter.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Frepublican-inaction-judicial-emergencies-jump&amp;text=Republican%20Inaction%20as%20Judicial%20Emergencies%20Jump" title="Share this on Twitter" class="service-links-twitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/twitter.png" alt="Twitter" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Frepublican-inaction-judicial-emergencies-jump&amp;t=Republican+Inaction+as+Judicial+Emergencies+Jump" title="Share on Facebook." class="service-links-facebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/facebook.png" alt="Facebook" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://www.google.com/bookmarks/mark?op=add&amp;bkmk=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Frepublican-inaction-judicial-emergencies-jump&amp;title=Republican+Inaction+as+Judicial+Emergencies+Jump" title="Bookmark this post on Google." class="service-links-google" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/google.png" alt="Google" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Frepublican-inaction-judicial-emergencies-jump&amp;title=Republican+Inaction+as+Judicial+Emergencies+Jump" title="Thumb this up at StumbleUpon" class="service-links-stumbleupon" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/stumbleit.png" alt="StumbleUpon" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a></div><div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-teaser-image">
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<p><a href="http://www.pfaw.org/content/republican-inaction-judicial-emergencies-jump" target="_blank">read more</a></p>Fair and Just CourtsC4bob caseyCharles GrassleyChuck GrassleyJohn CornynLuis Felipe RestrepoPat Toomey Ted CruzPennsylvaniaTexasjudicial nominationsLower Federal CourtsObstructionObstructionismThird Circuit Court of AppealsFri, 20 Feb 2015 17:27:44 +0000Paul50751 at http://www.pfaw.orgRepublicans Should Move Judicial Nominations Next Weekhttp://www.pfaw.org/content/republicans-should-move-judicial-nominations-next-week
The number of judicial vacancies continues to climb. Senate Republicans should move faster on judicial nominations.<div class="service-links"><a href="http://del.icio.us/post?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Frepublicans-should-move-judicial-nominations-next-week&amp;title=Republicans+Should+Move+Judicial+Nominations+Next+Week" title="Bookmark this post on del.icio.us." class="service-links-delicious" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/delicious.png" alt="del.icio.us" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Frepublicans-should-move-judicial-nominations-next-week&amp;title=Republicans+Should+Move+Judicial+Nominations+Next+Week" title="Submit this post on reddit.com." class="service-links-reddit" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/reddit.png" alt="Reddit" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://technorati.com/search/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Frepublicans-should-move-judicial-nominations-next-week" title="Search Technorati for links to this post." class="service-links-technorati" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/technorati.png" alt="Technorati" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://twitter.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Frepublicans-should-move-judicial-nominations-next-week&amp;text=Republicans%20Should%20Move%20Judicial%20Nominations%20Next%20Week" title="Share this on Twitter" class="service-links-twitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/twitter.png" alt="Twitter" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Frepublicans-should-move-judicial-nominations-next-week&amp;t=Republicans+Should+Move+Judicial+Nominations+Next+Week" title="Share on Facebook." class="service-links-facebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/facebook.png" alt="Facebook" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://www.google.com/bookmarks/mark?op=add&amp;bkmk=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Frepublicans-should-move-judicial-nominations-next-week&amp;title=Republicans+Should+Move+Judicial+Nominations+Next+Week" title="Bookmark this post on Google." class="service-links-google" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/google.png" alt="Google" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Frepublicans-should-move-judicial-nominations-next-week&amp;title=Republicans+Should+Move+Judicial+Nominations+Next+Week" title="Thumb this up at StumbleUpon" class="service-links-stumbleupon" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/stumbleit.png" alt="StumbleUpon" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a></div><div class="field field-type-text field-field-teaser">
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<p><a href="http://www.pfaw.org/content/republicans-should-move-judicial-nominations-next-week" target="_blank">read more</a></p>Fair and Just CourtsC4Luis Felipe Restrepojudicial nominationsLower Federal CourtsObstructionObstructionismThird Circuit Court of AppealsThu, 19 Feb 2015 21:31:24 +0000Paul50726 at http://www.pfaw.orgThursday is Test Day for Senate Judiciary Republicanshttp://www.pfaw.org/content/thursday-test-day-senate-judiciary-republicans
Will Senate Republicans still needlessly delay scheduled judicial nomination committee votes now that they are in the majority?<div class="service-links"><a href="http://del.icio.us/post?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Fthursday-test-day-senate-judiciary-republicans&amp;title=Thursday+is+Test+Day+for+Senate+Judiciary+Republicans" title="Bookmark this post on del.icio.us." class="service-links-delicious" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/delicious.png" alt="del.icio.us" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://reddit.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Fthursday-test-day-senate-judiciary-republicans&amp;title=Thursday+is+Test+Day+for+Senate+Judiciary+Republicans" title="Submit this post on reddit.com." class="service-links-reddit" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/reddit.png" alt="Reddit" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://technorati.com/search/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Fthursday-test-day-senate-judiciary-republicans" title="Search Technorati for links to this post." class="service-links-technorati" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/technorati.png" alt="Technorati" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://twitter.com/share?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Fthursday-test-day-senate-judiciary-republicans&amp;text=Thursday%20is%20Test%20Day%20for%20Senate%20Judiciary%20Republicans" title="Share this on Twitter" class="service-links-twitter" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/twitter.png" alt="Twitter" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Fthursday-test-day-senate-judiciary-republicans&amp;t=Thursday+is+Test+Day+for+Senate+Judiciary+Republicans" title="Share on Facebook." class="service-links-facebook" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/facebook.png" alt="Facebook" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://www.google.com/bookmarks/mark?op=add&amp;bkmk=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Fthursday-test-day-senate-judiciary-republicans&amp;title=Thursday+is+Test+Day+for+Senate+Judiciary+Republicans" title="Bookmark this post on Google." class="service-links-google" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/google.png" alt="Google" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a> <a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pfaw.org%2Fcontent%2Fthursday-test-day-senate-judiciary-republicans&amp;title=Thursday+is+Test+Day+for+Senate+Judiciary+Republicans" title="Thumb this up at StumbleUpon" class="service-links-stumbleupon" rel="nofollow"><img src="/sites/all/modules/contrib/service_links/images/stumbleit.png" alt="StumbleUpon" title="" width="16" height="16" /></a></div><div class="field field-type-filefield field-field-teaser-image">
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<p><a href="http://www.pfaw.org/content/thursday-test-day-senate-judiciary-republicans" target="_blank">read more</a></p>Fair and Just CourtsC4Charles GrassleyChuck GrassleyJohn CornynMike LeeOrrin Hatch Ted Cruzjudicial nominationsLower Federal CourtsObstructionObstructionismWed, 11 Feb 2015 17:38:21 +0000Paul50301 at http://www.pfaw.orgTony Perkins: Marriage Equality Rulings Will Throw 'Our Country Into A Tailspin'http://www.pfaw.org/content/tony-perkins-marriage-equality-rulings-will-throw-our-country-tailspin
<p>Family Research Council President Tony Perkins spent a good portion of his &ldquo;Washington Watch&rdquo; radio program on Monday praising Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore and the state probate judges who are refusing to follow a federal court order legalizing same-sex marriage in the state.</p>
<p>Perkins said that he, too, is &ldquo;not going to listen to these courts that are wrong&rdquo; when they make a ruling that is &ldquo;inconsistent with nature itself, certainly inconsistent with scripture.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The federal courts, he added, &ldquo;are setting themselves up to lose credibility and put, I believe, our country into a tailspin.&rdquo;</p>
<p align="center"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/190597764&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe></p>
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<p>What is the rule of law? In a free society, a democratic society, the rule of law is generated, over all, [by the] Constitution and general consensus. We agree. And when you go too far out, which this administration has and these courts are, it doesn&rsquo;t work. An unjust law is no law at all.</p>
<p>And they are setting themselves up to lose credibility and put, I believe, our country into a tailspin. Because I&rsquo;m not going to listen to these courts that are wrong, when they have taken away the rights of the people and just imposed upon this nation a viewpoint that is not shared by a majority of the people. Even if it was, it&rsquo;s inconsistent with nature itself, certainly inconsistent with scripture.</p>
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Equality For AllMarriage EqualityFair and Just CourtsFighting the RightC4Family Research CouncilRoy Moore Tony Perkins Anti-GayMarriage EqualityWed, 11 Feb 2015 15:11:16 +0000Miranda Blue50266 at http://www.pfaw.orgA Victory in the Fight for Fair Trials for Undocumented Immigrantshttp://www.pfaw.org/content/victory-fight-fair-trials-undocumented-immigrants
<p>In an important victory for fair courts and the principle that justice is available to all, an appeals court in California today issued a decision granting a new trial for an undocumented immigrant whose immigration status was revealed to jurors despite its irrelevance to the issues in the case. People For the American Way had joined the UC Hastings Appellate Project and the ACLU of Southern California in submitting an <a href="http://blog.pfaw.org/content/pfaw-files-amicus-brief-supporting-fair-trials-undocumented-immigrants">amicus brief</a> in the case, <em>Velasquez v. Centrome, Inc. dba Advanced Biotech</em>.</p>
<p>In this case, a former factory worker named Wilfredo Velasquez sued Advanced Biotech, Inc. for its alleged failure to tell his employer about the <a href="http://www.law360.com/articles/599233/worker-says-immigration-info-spoils-popcorn-lung-verdict">harms of a chemical he was exposed to</a> while on the job &mdash; exposure which he says led to a devastating lung disease. But during the jury selection, the trial judge revealed to jurors that Velasquez was undocumented, an action that, in the words of our <a href="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/Velasquez_Amicus_Project_Final.pdf">amicus brief</a>, &ldquo;unnecessarily injected prejudice into the selection process, making it impossible to know whether Mr. Velasquez received his constitutionally guaranteed fair trial by impartial jurors.&rdquo; The threat to Velasquez&rsquo;s right to a fair trial became clear when the jury concluded that Advanced Biotech had indeed been negligent &mdash; yet still awarded no damages to Velasquez, meaning that he, in effect, lost his case.</p>
<p>Fortunately, today the appeals court righted this wrong by granting Velasquez a new trial. The state appeals court noted that &ldquo;cases both in California and in multiple other jurisdictions have recognized the strong danger of prejudice attendant with the disclosure of a party&rsquo;s status as an undocumented immigrant.&rdquo;&nbsp; Indeed, we have seen how <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/category/topics/immigration-0">undocumented immigrants face ongoing hostility</a> in our country.</p>
<p>As the <a href="http://www.pfaw.org/sites/default/files/Velasquez_Amicus_Project_Final.pdf">amicus brief</a> notes, every person, regardless of immigration status, has a right to &ldquo;a verdict rendered by an impartial jury.&rdquo; It is a right that must remain a foundational principle of our judicial system.<br />
&nbsp;</p>
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Fair and Just CourtsC4ImmigrationVelasquez v. CentromeFri, 30 Jan 2015 22:39:39 +0000Layne49741 at http://www.pfaw.orgPFAW Foundation Joins Amicus Brief in SCOTUS Case on Health Care Tax Subsidieshttp://www.pfaw.org/content/pfaw-foundation-joins-amicus-brief-scotus-case-health-care-tax-subsidies
<p>Yesterday PFAW Foundation joined the National Women&rsquo;s Law Center, the law firm Hogan Lovells, and close to 70 other organizations in <a href="http://www.nwlc.org/press-release/nwlc-submits-amicus-brief-behalf-68-organizations-supreme-court-case-will-decide-fate-">submitting</a> an <a href="http://www.nwlc.org/resource/king-v-burwell-amicus-brief">amicus brief</a> in <em>King v. Burwell</em>, the pending Supreme Court case on tax subsidies for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The brief notes that a decision in favor of those challenging the subsidies would threaten a central goal of the law: making access to health insurance possible for millions of people across the country.<br />
<br />
The ramifications of a wrong decision in this case could be enormous, causing serious harm in the lives of people now relying on health insurance through the ACA. If the core tax subsidy provision were to be struck down, the brief points out, women of color would be <a href="http://www.nwlc.org/resource/king-v-burwell-amicus-brief">especially hard-hit</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>These tax credits are critical. Over 9 million women, who would otherwise go without affordable health insurance, are eligible to benefit from them, including a disproportionate number of women of color.<br />
<br />
&hellip;The tax credits are not only critical to women&rsquo;s health; they are critical to the ACA&rsquo;s continued viability. Congress encouraged participation in the insurance market primarily through the careful interrelation of the individual responsibility provision, market reforms, and tax-credit provisions. Eliminate the tax credits, and the system unravels.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The amicus brief highlights the stories of many real women who depend on the tax credits to access needed health care:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Marilyn Schramm, 63, is a 26-year cancer survivor from Austin, Texas. She endured treatment for cervical cancer in her thirties and has experienced life-long complications from that treatment that have required surgeries since then. Marilyn retired several years ago. When her COBRA rights were exhausted, Marilyn was forced to go without insurance for six months because of her &ldquo;preexisting conditions.&rdquo; But in January 2014, Marilyn could finally purchase insurance on the federally-facilitated Exchange in Texas, with at least half of her premium covered by the ACA&rsquo;s tax credits.<br />
<br />
Marilyn has now been diagnosed with colon cancer; following surgery, she began chemotherapy this month. Her coverage depends on the ACA&rsquo;s prohibition on excluding those with pre-existing conditions, and on its premium tax credits: With her modest retirement income, Marilyn is unsure whether or how she could pay her insurance premium without the tax credits.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As we have noted before, this case is a <a href="http://blog.pfaw.org/content/ominous-sign-roberts-court-aca-subsidies">blatantly political attack</a> intended to do serious damage to the Affordable Care Act. The millions of women and men across the country who rely on the ACA in order to access health care ranging from preventative screenings to cancer treatments deserve far better.</p>
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Fair and Just CourtsC3Affordable Care ActKing v. BurwellObamacareThu, 29 Jan 2015 21:54:51 +0000Layne49664 at http://www.pfaw.org